CJ McCollum scored 37 points in 6-11 three-pointers while the Portland Trail Blazers mopped the ground with the Sacramento Kings tonight. McCollum encouraged the Blazers early, late and everywhere, ensuring that his teammates could relax and enjoy the evening. Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter made the most of the seat, not only holding, but extending, the advantage that CJ placed in his laps. The accumulated effort resulted in an advantage of 30 points in the third quarter and a final score of 125-99.
First quarter
The Blazers jumped to a fast 16-8 lead behind McCollum’s 9 quick points. He scored inside and at a distance, confusing the defense of Sacramento in each turn. Both teams seemed happy to keep him on the half court earlier, which suited Portland guards perfectly. The pace accelerated as the quarter progressed. At first this seemed to favor the Blazers, as Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. passed and dived, but at least four of the Kings’ players like to leave, while only a few from Portland do. The Blazers’ defense was somewhat exposed, especially in the interior. His attack drifted into deep shots that missed. Carmelo Anthony came in with a course correction in the middle of the room, taking the attack from the inside (and even more to the half-court isolation, which turned out to be a good thing in protecting an advantage). ‘Melo scored 8 in the period. 50% of pitches, half a dozen assists and an incredible 10 free throws in the period – along with relatively bad Sacramento kicks – helped the Blazers to get the better of the room. They led 38-24 after one.
Second bedroom
Sacramento launched a modified zone defense when the second period began. The Portland bank looked confused, except for the rare possessions when they found an open range shot. On the other hand, the Blazers had no answer to the internal game of Hassan Whiteside and Sacramento. The Kings started from the inside, then threw the ball out when Portland collapsed on the track … a chorus that must sound familiar to anyone who has seen the Blazers defend in the past two years. As soon as Whiteside sat down, however, Kanter dominated the glass. He and Anthony saved the Blazers in the middle of the second, when the three points stubbornly refused to fall. Despite all the problems, Portland holders inherited a 50-38 lead when they checked in for the end of semester shift. With the table set in front of him, Damian Lillard fired shots and gave passes to Jusuf Nurkic, destroying the Kings defense. The Sacramento also heated up to close the half, but they did not advance. Portland led 66-49 at the break.
Third and fourth quarters
The Blazers increased their defense to start the third, forcing the Kings to pass and shoot hard. As Sacramento stumbled, Portland fired. Lillard centered the attack, penetrating and passing. McCollum became the favorite target, hitting three three and a short kick, scoring 11 more points before the fourth ended five minutes. Jones, Jr. and Nurkic also took action. Realistically, anyone who wanted to score, could. They kept up the pressure and the pace until the Kings had to shout, “uncle”.
Terry Stotts kept McCollum in the fight until the second half of the fourth. Realistically, he could have defeated the Kings alone tonight. The launch of a decent game center and a good rebound kept the contest totally uneven. Tyrese Haliburton was the only Sacramento player to make noise in the second half. He looked great, but it wasn’t close enough. The Blazers opened a 30-point lead and never looked back, ending the game with 26.
Notes and Analysis
CJ McCollum is scoring so easily now that his prominent reel resembles ballet. Close or deep, with one or two legs, with the ball or tag, everything is in rhythm and HIGH. McCollum even hit five fake kicks tonight, turning his production from attractive to totally unfair. He scored 37 in 13-22 shots, 6-11 from the bottom, with 3 assists and 2 steals in 29 minutes. If the Blazers manage to get big and keep their starting guards under 30 minutes per game like this, they’ll be fine as the year goes on.
Damian Lillard scored 17, kicking just 1-7 from the hoop, but he seemed content to play in the stream and give shots to other players, especially McCollum. But Lillard also found Jusuf Nurkic with some assists, putting the big man into action.
Nurkic responded with a 4-8 shot, 8 rebounds and 10 points in 23 minutes of play. He was as active in defense as he has been all season, even running and diving to the ground after a lost ball in the third quarter when the game was already won. His passage was incomplete at first, but at some point in the second half the time fell into place and he started to look a bit like the Nurkic of old. This is a positive sign for Portland.
Carmelo Anthony was effective in the beginning, ensuring that the Kings could not take anything away from the leadership that the Blazers built in the first half. He finished shooting only 4-12, perhaps giving himself a little extra permission to attack, but when he started to miss hardcore, the game was won anyway. Even when he is effective, however, Carmelo slows down the attack. The more it rolls, the more the second unit is stopped. Throw a coin, be it good or bad; it depends on the situation and the opponent. On the positive side, Anthony defended carefully in the second half. Still, he is a walking puzzle. He is at the center of one of the big philosophical questions of the season: was the Portland bench made just to score or should it do more?
Enes Kanter joined Anthony on the bank patrol, beating Sacramento’s hands every time they tried to mount an effective race. He made 15 rebounds in 19 minutes. He was pushed by Hassan Whiteside and scored by everyone who entered the track, but whenever someone missed a shot, Kanter was there. On the one hand, they are “just” rebounds, but on the other hand, not having to worry about who is looking at the glass frees Portland defenders to take care of their assignments on the perimeter.
17-41 (41.5%) three-point shooting was the biggest “Easy Button” factor for the Blazers in this game, particularly with the Kings shooting only 8-30 (26.7%) from long range. But the sneaky good statistic was Portland forcing 15 turnovers, centered around 10 steals. Thievery made the attack faster and easier, turning a likely victory into a guaranteed victory.
Portland’s attack is better than a few weeks ago. The Blazers had 26 assists in 44 shots. These numbers don’t tell the whole story. They didn’t get lost or missed the opportunities as much as they did at the beginning of the season. Sacramento was not defending itself very well, but Portland also did not let them stand on the defensive. In addition to McCollum (who shot correctly almost every time he had them), the Blazers collectively moved their feet and the ball well.
Not everything was rosy. The Kings launched an intermittent zone defense in the second half that hindered the Blazers for a while. Portland settled for three strange angles instead of breaking it aggressively. Between its pitchers and Nurkic’s passing ability in the middle, a zone should never catch Portland at a loss. They are practically made to break it. We’ll see if they evolve if other teams try the same.
The defense of the interior also remains an area of great concern. The huge scoring margin masked him, but whenever Sacramento drove or put in, good things happened for them.
These are minor concerns in a wide margin victory. The Blazers not only took care of business tonight, they closed the store early and took a minimum vacation. That’s all you can ask for in a regular season game against the Kings. Angry.
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The Blazers welcome the Toronto Raptors to the Moda Center on Monday night at 7pm.